Thoughts on the Election

After the election results last night many people will wonder  how the shift in power in the senate will impact the ACA legislation. It will certainly be interesting to see how aggressive the GOP is out of the gate in attacking the ACA. One thing is certain, and that is that it won’t be repealed. Even though the GOP has the majority they don’t have a veto-proof majority and the President will certainly veto any attempts to repeal the law and in on record stating as much.  The thought is that the GOP will attempt to defund aspects of the ACA as opposed to attempting to repeal it.

The challenge for the GOP is that the proverbial “toothpaste” is already out of the tube. 8 million people received subsidies this year so to take that away poses a pretty significant political challenge. I imagine the GOP will attempt to rewrite certain aspects of the law that fit its agenda but again, the veto pen looms if it isn’t something that the President can agree with.

All in all we can expect a bit of chaos once again relative to the ACA legislation, which means now more than ever it will be important to stay on top of the latest developments with ACA to stay compliant and in the know. At Scott we are positioned well and ready for the challenge will continue to be a leader in our market relative to ACA compliance and information.

 

Greg Stancil

Director of Healthcare Reform

HPID Requirement Delayed Until Further Notice

Statement of Enforcement Discretion regarding 45 CFR 162 Subpart E - Standard Unique Health Identifier for Health Plans

Effective October 31, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS), the division of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that is responsible for enforcement of compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) standard transactions, code sets, unique identifiers and operating rules, announces a delay, until further notice, in enforcement of 45 CFR 162, Subpart E, the regulations pertaining to health plan enumeration and use of the Health Plan Identifier (HPID) in HIPAA transactions adopted in the HPID final rule (CMS-0040-F). This enforcement delay applies to all HIPAA covered entities, including healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses.

On September 23, 2014, the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), an advisory body to HHS, recommended that HHS rectify in rulemaking that all covered entities (health plans, healthcare providers and clearinghouses, and their business associates) not use the HPID in the HIPAA transactions. This enforcement discretion will allow HHS to review the NCVHS’s recommendation and consider any appropriate next steps.